Answering services for small businesses can save you time and money while ensuring professional customer experiences. The best answering service may be a virtual receptionist or a live human attendant, depending on your needs. Both versions greet callers and route them to extensions. However, human receptionists are typically more expensive than automated services. We chose…
What Is a Virtual Phone Number?
A virtual phone number is a number that’s routed through an existing landline, cell phone, or another internet-connected device. Unlike voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) services, a virtual number doesn’t replace your current phone service. Instead, you can use one or more devices to answer or make calls using a new or established business phone number. Most virtual…
How to Improve Sales & Marketing Alignment & Why It Matters
Sales and marketing alignment occurs when those involved in awareness building work together with those tasked with lead generation and nurturing. Because smaller teams often have to perform more than one role, alignment is often easier for small businesses to achieve. However, it does take planning and in some cases, additional training. You can strengthen…
What Is a Conference Call?
A conference call enables multiple participants to join the same call simultaneously. While the term is mainly used to describe multiparty telephone calls, advancements in voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) technology have made it possible to host and join conference calls from smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop devices. Below, we break down the types of conference calls, how…
6 Best Business Cell Phone Plans
If you want to equip your team to answer calls on a smartphone, there are three ways you can do it without requiring staff have an extra cell phone. You sign up for a dedicated business phone plan from a cellular provider, use a mobile app from a voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) provider, or forward calls to…
G.729 vs G.711 VoIP Codecs: Which Is Best?
G.729 and G.711 are two of the most popular codecs used by modern voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) systems to transmit calls as data over the internet. Phone systems must find a balance between delivering audio quality and requiring bandwidth, and that’s why these two different codecs exist. G.711 provides higher audio quality, but it requires more network…
eVoice vs Grasshopper: Which Is Better for Your Small Business?
A voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) or virtual phone system helps your teams stay connected while improving customer experience. With no shortage of solutions, finding the best one for your small business is challenging. However, Grasshopper and eVoice are two top internet-based services that offer affordable and feature-rich plans. Explore these two providers to find out which VoIP…
How to Set Up VoIP System in 7 Simple Steps
Advancements in telephony technology make it quick and easy for businesses to set up a business voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) system. As VoIP technology continues to evolve, more and more businesses and consumers are swapping out their copper-wired landlines for more affordable internet-based communications. From the outside looking in, setting up any business phone system can seem…
Nextiva Review: Is Nextiva VoIP Right for Your Business?
Nextiva is a business VoIP platform that lets businesses connect with their clients and teams. Monthly fees start at $29.95 per user for 5–19 users.
Industry-specific CRM: Which One Is Right for Your Business?
Customer relationship management (CRM) software gives sales professionals a centralized location to input, store, and manage information about leads and customer interactions. Industry-specific CRMs provide additional functionality to help particular business types move customers and prospects through sales cycles more quickly. How to Find a Specialized CRM for Your Industry Don’t assume your industry is…
Voice Over IP News & Trends: What to Expect in 2021
Voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) technology became a daily fixture in our work and personal lives in 2020. In truth, the technology has been on a rapid rise for decades now. And while 2020 was a year of steady growth for VoIP’s biggest players, the future is likely going to hold even bigger things for the industry. ‘The…
Salesforce Essentials Review: Is Salesforce Essentials Right for Your Business?
Salesforce Essentials is a customer relationship management (CRM) software designed for small businesses. It connects users to their customers using scaled-down versions of Salesforce’s suite of solutions. Among these solutions are sales activity tracking, customer support tools, and contact data import. It also offers a guided setup that includes tutorials on getting started with the…